My Tovarosh
by MsViral
Summary: Astheroche Asran has been feeling very emotional lately, ever since hearing about Abel Nightroad’s death. But what happens when she discovers that her Empress is meeting someone secretly at night, and who could this person be?


Hiyo! This be my first ever Trinity Blood fanfiction. I wanted to write a story with Astheroche Asran, because she is one of my favorite female characters of the series. I'm really sad to see that no one else has written about her (well, I haven't found a story with her in it yet, so maybe I'm missing something), so I take it upon myself to write something about her.

If she seems a little OOC, I apologize. I do try my best to keep her in character.

**Story Summery**: Astheroche Asran has been feeling very emotional lately, ever since hearing about Abel Nightroad's death. But when she see's a change in her Empress' mood, and finds the Empress meeting with someone late at night, she finds herself curious and determined to find out who this stranger is… and is shocked when she discovers who it is!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Astheroche Asran, or any of the other Trinity Blood characters. They belong to Yoshida Sunao, may he rest in peace.

-start-

A long-stemed wine glass hit the wall and shattered, the shards falling to cut into the beautiful, and quite expensive, carpet that covered the dinning hall floor. A few moments later, a lovely china plate, with intricate floral designs painted along the outter rim, flew across the room and smashed just above where the glass had hit moments before, the bloodied steak, potatoes, and dinner roll flying off the plate and landing wherever gravity took them. A tall man, dressed in a simple black suit and with greying hair slicked back in a ponytail, stood off to the side of the long mahogany wood table, watching his mistress silently fume as she kept her amber gaze leveled on her clenched fists in her lap. When she showed no further signs of wanting to hurl anything else at the wall, the butler silently walked over and began to clean the mess up with a towel he had been holding on his arm.

"I…" Looking up from the mess on the floor, he watched as his mistress' gaze finally fall on him, and the strain in her voice, the slight quiver that shook her shoulders, spoke volumes of how hard the past week had been for emotional state. Her lips pressed tightly together in a thin red line, looking both embarrassed and exhausted. Sighing, he smiled at her and nodded slightly.

"It's alright, Ms Asran. Maybe it would be best for you to retire for the night? I can take care of this." Looking away, her cheeks flushed red, and a sigh escaped her at long last. Looking back, she stood up and walked around the table, and as she passed by him, she lay a hand on his shoulder momentarily and gave him an apologetic look.

"I… I'm sorry, Mavrick… for my behavior this past week. Thank you for being so… understanding." Mavrick smiled warmly at her, patting her hand.

"No need to worry, Asthe. Please, take care of yourself."

-break-

As soon as her servants had left her alone to bathe, Astheroche Asran finally let herself go. Curling up, knees pressed to her chest and arms wrapped around herself tightly, she let the tears fall, tears she had been fighting back for days… tears she hadn't allowed herself to show to anyone, afraid of exposing weakness. Since word of Father Abel Nightroad's death had reached her, she had done her best to stay strong, especially when in the pressence of the young Earl of Memphis. Last thing they needed at the time was for Ion to go racing off to comfort Sister Esther… but in her own heart, Asthe had wanted nothing more then to drop everything and run with him, to see for herself…

Choking back a sob that threatened to overwelm her, she shook her head and fought off the tears. Crying did no good… and crying over a Terran's death wasn't like her. But Abel had been special to her, though they had gotten off to a rocky start. She had to admit that his determination to help her, despite how coldly she had treated him, surprised her and put her off guard. Maybe that's what hurt so much, that she had let her guard down, allowed him to get close to her heart without realizing that she had opened herself up to him… even calling him her Tovarosh.

"Foolish… I'm so foolish!" She whispered, wiping away the stray tears with the back of one slender hand. The sound of footsteps alerted her to the return of her servants, so she quickly scrubbed her face with the warm scented water and got out, just in time to see one of her servants enter with a towel.

"Good evening, Ms Asran…" The young Terran dropped her gaze away from Asthe's form, a show of respect and obediance, and held the towel out to her mistress. Asthe took the towel from her grasp and began to dry off her body, the girl now turned to retrieve a robe from another young servant girl who had followed her in. As Asthe gave the girls permission to help her into the soft white cotton robe and brush out her hair, which had been tired up for her bath, she allowed her thoughts to wander, just a bit, to a certain silver-haired man whom, without her realizing it, had stolen her affections and had broken her heart…

-break-

The rest of that week went by a bit more smoothly for Asthe as she learned to control her raging emotions in front of others, doing her best to remain formal and proper when speaking to others she met in the city, to keep up appearences. A few times, when she reported to the Empress about her latest missions, or certain state matters, she could feel the same forced professionalism from young Augusta, whose smile seemed empty and her eyes betrayed her mood, the shadows deep and hurt. On one of her last visits to the Empress, Augusta had told her the Earl of Memphis had disappeared from the city without word, and she appeared very concerned for the young Methusalah. Asthe kept silent, but cursed Ion when she was alone later, having a good feeling she knew where he had gone off to… and wishing the she could have gone with him.

"Thank you for your report, Asthe… you are dismissed." Bowing deeply, Asthe turned and left the Empress' courtroom. Today felt like any other day for her, but the Empress had seemed different to her… her smile seemed more genuine, and the darkness she had felt surrounding her was gone. Asthe was curious, what had changed her mood so suddenly? Knowing she could possibly be caught and get in a lot of trouble for it, but not caring, Asthe slipped down the halls that evening and made her way silently to the large balcony that hung off the Empress' chambers.

Brushing the red strands of her bangs away from her face, Asthe hid amounst the trees below the balcony, fiddling with the tie strings of her cloak. For this little incurrtion, she had dressed in her 'outer' clothing, a black corset and fitted black pants with knee-high boots. Instead of her leather trenchcoat, she opted for her forest green cloak, to blend in more with her surroundings. Spying on the Empress was borderline treason, she knew this, but she was concerned, and very curious, and felt she was in the right to spy. Asthe was very loyal to Augusta, and only wished her the best in health and wanted what was best for her Empress, and if spying was the way to gain information… well, she would do so and with only the upmost respect.

The sun was setting behind the palace, casting an orange glow over the land, and with the disappearing sun, the chill of night crept in. Shivering a bit, Asthe pulled her cloak closer and waited. She didn't have to wait long, though, as the small form of Augusta appeared looking over the balcony. She was still dressed in her formal green coat, but had discarded her hat, allowing the breeze to blow her short, dark hair around her pale face, a small smile gracing her lips. A shadow appeared from behind her, and Asthe reached reflexively for her weapon, but relaxed as the shadowed person simply stood beside Augusta, the Empress turning slightly to smile widely up at them.

She couldn't hear them, not from her position, nor could she see the person Augusta spoke to. Whoever they were, they were exceptionally tall, and wore a black cloak over their head, masking the face in shadow. Augusta seemed not to mind, and smiled at the person while her mouth moved, carrying on a conversation with them. Once in a while she'd stop, signaling that the other was speaking, their shoulders moving slightly under the cloak, the hood bobbing every so often. The conversation between the two didn't last very long, and it ended with Augusta embracing the person, which was the first time Asthe got a look at the person's arms, and a brief glance at their chest beneath.

It was a man, that was what she first noticed. Secondly, she recognized immediately the black and white priest clothing under the cloak, the gold cross shining dully in the faded light. Was it a priest from the Vatican? If so, what were they doing here, and why did Augusta act so familiar with them? Brow creasing, she watched the two part, Augusta turning to head into the palace, the priest following suit. Asthe had to know who this person was, and so she decided then, to return the next night and find out…

-break-

The following night was much the same – the mysterious visitor, whom Asthe had dubbed, 'Cloaked Priest', came to the balcony and carried on a conversation with the Empress. This conversation lasted a bit longer, and this time, Augusta seemed a bit worried, constantly reaching out to touch the other's arm, at one point grabbing him by both arms and seeming to plead with him. When this happened, he simply reached up and gently removed her hands, pressing her hands between his own, bending down slightly to be at her level, as if he was consoling her. He brushed a gloved hand across her cheek, an affectionate gesture, to which Augusta sighed and nodded, smiling sadly. They embraced once more, and Augusta turned to leave. This time, though, he did not follow, but stood by the balcony edge, gazing outward. Asthe, curious, kept herself low to the ground and dashed quickly and quietly from shadow to shadow, determined to find out who this person was.

As she reached just below the balcony and glanced up, she halted in her steps, finding the hooded figure was looking straight down at her. From where she was, she could now make out the lower portion of his face, the curve of his lips, the pale skin which reminded her of her own. She watched as those lips opened slowly, as if they were about to speak, and until that moment, Asthe had been rooted to the spot in fear at being seen. Panicing, she turned and flead, hoping against hope that they had not gotten a very good look at her and she would not be reported.

-break-

Letting her instincts kick in, Asthe sped across the palace grounds, easily avoiding the guards and anyone else who she happened to pass, mostly Terran servants tending to nightly tasks. How did she allow herself to be so careless? She had not expected to be spotted, and now she feared an alarm would sound any moment, a search party sent out to find her and bring her to Augusta for questioning. As fearful of being caught as she was, Asthe couldn't keep her speed and finally stopped to rest a moment, sliding down to sit under a weeping willow which stood by a large marble fountain, pulling her hood down and shaking out her hair. No alarm had been sounded, at least for the time being, so she allowed herself the small hope that maybe she had not been reported. Groaning, she raked her nails through her long ivory-blonde hair, closing her eyes for a moment to gather herself.

"I've let myself grown careless, becoming too confident in my own abilities, thinking I could never be caught… I allow my emotions to get in the way…" She hated to confess it to herself, but it did help her set about fixing the problem. Standing, stretching her arms above her head, she allowed herself the luxury of believing that the alarm would not be sounded, and that she was free to head home. Lack of good rest, and not eating much of anything over the last two weeks, was really wearing her down. Stepping lightly, she walked around the fountain, letting her fingers trail just over the water surface, watching the small ripples radiate from her nails when they dipped low enough to touch the liquid. She stopped halfway around, dipping her hand in and bringing a small handful of water to her lips, letting the cool water soothe her dry throat. Dropping her hand down to get another handful, she stopped and felt her heartbeat speed up once more, as she saw, reflected in the water behind her, was the cloaked man.

-break-

Swiftly spinning around, she reached to grab her weapon, slung on her back, intent on at least spooking him enough to make a getaway, and made a fatal mistake – not realizing the grass around the fountain was slick, and her high-heel boots did not have good enough traction to keep her upright. Her eyes widened as she felt the back of her legs connect with the fountain, and a very uncharacteristic, girlish squeal escaped her lips as she tensed her body for the impact with cold water, closing her eyes tightly, waiting for the shock… and then feeling two, strong, warm arms encircle her body, one hand resting on her lower back and pulling her foreward, the other hand planted between her shoulder blades, and the sudden, warm contact of bodies pressed together, her hands reflexively coming up to grasp onto the mans shoulders, her head falling forward to bury her face into his chest. It all happened quickly, all too quickly for it to register in her mind, and she opened her eyes to stare at the fabric of his robe, her breath held as she felt his heartbeat quicken, could see and feel the rise and fall of his chest, and to her it felt as though he was also as shocked at his actions as she was, for neather one moved immediately.

The strong scent of a male body came off him, and Asthe couldn't help closing her eyes as she leaned in more to inhale the smell, relishing in the sweetness of the sweat and soap mix, the scent that she knew only belonged to a man, and the underlying scent of his blood, just under the skins surface, beating and throbbing in his veins. Unconsciously, she pulled herself closer, her smaller frame pressing up against his taller, broader frame, and she felt the heat intensify, and gasped when she felt his arms tighten around her, felt hot breath on her neck, heard his voice for the first time, his lips brushing against her ear…

"Asthe…"

-end-

**MsViral**: Oooh! How terrible am I, to leave it like this? I promise to have the next chapter up soon… to be honest, I didn't expect this to be longer then one chapter, but I feel like dividing it up a bit. Damn! This was ment to be a oneshot fanfiction…

Anywho, reviews are loved! Flames are hurtful, please refrain. Constructive critism is appreciated more. Thank you for reading!


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